Emily once again walked along the dock that stretched beside the underground lake. The water rippled gently beneath them as they approached the Hearthspeaker, who hadn't moved a muscle since she'd last seen him.

The only difference this time was that Kael and Alex walked beside her, with Mo and Ra leading the way.

When they reached the old man, he opened his eyes to look at them. A faint hue of gold remained, flickering in their depths.

"Greetings, Kaelan and Alexander. Miss Emily, it's good to see you again so soon. I'm sorry I had to step in, or you may have walked right into Chief Hermes's trap."

Emily frowned up at the old bag of bones, but Kael lowered himself to one knee.

"It is an honor to see you again, elder. I'm ashamed that it took me this long to come and greet you. Especially after all you've been doing for us," he said.

There was a tone of reverence that Emily had not heard in Kael's voice before.

He spoke as though the old man had been doing them a favor, but as far as she was concerned, his motivations had been purely selfish.

The Hearthspeaker's eyes softened, and he nodded at Kael

Emily felt like she was missing a piece of the puzzle, and yet, the two continued to share a look of mutual respect.

She could only hold on so long before her patience ran out.

"Will someone please explain what's going on? I don't enjoy feeling like a pawn in your game. Not unless I know what I'm getting myself into," she said firmly.

Kael tore his eyes away from the Hearthspeaker for long enough to spare her a glance.

"Right, well, the answer is simple, Emily. The only reason I have any right to challenge Hermes is because of the Hearthspeakers' efforts. He backed my challenge, lending it weight, as he's been trying to enstate you as a fully-fledged Shaman."

Emily bit the inside of her cheek. She had wondered why the man had insisted she undergo the trial. She had just written it off as tradition, demanding it, but now that she thought of it. It would have taken a large amount of effort and status to install an outsider in a position of power. Shaking her head, she kept her question succinct.

"Why?"

Kael paused at her question and looked around as though searching for spies. But it was only the six of them in here. Tao had stopped at the door to prevent the other Shamans from entering.

The Hearthspeaker brought his emaciated hand up to his chin with a thoughtful expression.

"Because he is the only one left who has the right to challenge Hermes," he said.

Emily frowned at this. Earlier, Emily had thought there was a problem between the Chiefs and the Shamans, but maybe that wasn't correct; maybe it was Hermes himself who had the problem.

Seeing that the Hearthspeaker was speaking freely, Kael picked up where he left off

"I left when Hermes was taking over the circle of Chiefs, challenging anyone who got in his way. We call them the branches, and to become one, we have to challenge a chief to take their place."

"Over a decade ago now, Hermes took over, and when he did, he started to sow discourse between the roots and the branches. Making them distrustful of us. It didn't work at first, but as he poisioned more minds to his hatred of Shamans, they started to close us out of the decision making," the Hearthspeaker said.

"How's that even possible? From what I've seen of your people, they greatly respect the Shamans." Emily said.

"Yes, the average person might still uphold our ways, but the longer Hermes has to poison people against us, the more we struggle to offer our aid."

Emily didn't respond to this right away.

So, all this was just a power struggle?

"I hoped that when Kael returned, he would be able to help us. However, if Kael wasn't ready, I would have just snuck you all out of the city in the middle of the day. Hermes probably anticipated this, so he was looking for a reason to fight, and now he has one." The Hearthspeaker said solemnly.

Emily digested all this as she put the pieces together. She glanced at Alex, he had said some of Kaels' friends had snuck them out of the city last time; it had to have been the Hearthspeaker.

She didn't feel guilty over what happened. They had been avoiding a fight, but if they'd wanted to avoid this from happening, then they should have kept her in the loop and explained everything earlier.

"Well, now what?" she said.

Kael cleared her throat.

"Now we need to move. You will need to leave earlier than intended for the storm. I'm not allowed to come with you, but I can send someone as your guard."

Alex stood straighter, clutching his healing arm to his chest.

"Let me accompany her. It's either that or I remain locked up here in the roots, and I know which I'd rather do," he said with a firm resolve.

The Hearthspeaker looked Alex up and down.

"Do you understand that she will be heading to the stormfront? It is a place of uncertainty. After a point, you will not be able to follow her. You could be in danger just by sheer proximity to the area itself."

"I do, but at least like this I can help her in my way," Alex said firmly.

Emily scratched at her chest. She felt a warm sensation spreading through he body. Was she getting sick?

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

Regardless, if Alex was out of the city, then he would be safe against unknown plots. There was always a danger of whatever was out there in the sands, but it was far easier to deal with than their current problems. And seeing as the storm was near, the likelihood that something lived in the area was much lower.

The only problem was that Emily hadn't worked out her final matrix yet, which meant she would have to figure it out on her way there.

"How long did you say it takes to get there?" she asked.

"A little under two days," the Hearthspeaker said.

Emily looked at Kael and then Alex.

"Well, if we're set on this path, I don't have many options, do I?"

The Hearthspeaker nodded.

"Excellent. I'll have Tao prepare to leave within the hour. In the meantime, I offer you this," he said, drawing a thin twig from his robe. It was woven into a circlet, delicate enough to slip onto her headdress or tie around her arm.

"What is it?" she asked.

"Proof that you are undergoing a trial. It will also allow me to confirm when you've completed the challenge."

Emily took the offered twig and examined it. It resembled a flower crown without the flowers, its strands looping and twisting together to form a simple, elegant ring.

"Now, you and Alexander should leave to go and prepare. I have some things to discuss with Kaelan."

Emily shrugged and turned to follow Mo and Ra out.

When they were out in the hallway again, and the doors had shut behind them, Emily turned to look at Alex with a smile.

"So did you do it?" she asked as they walked back to her room.

Alex frowned and raised a brow.

"You mean, did Sandy do it?" he asked innocently.

Emily just shrugged her shoulders.

Alex glanced back at their two guards, and his lips curved up at the corners.

That was all Emily needed for her smile to creep in.

Just before they reached he room, Emily noticed the way the Shamans moved through the halls. They all seemed to be in a rush as they traveled about their business. There was a definite fervour to their movements.

Emily wasn't that interested, and by the time she got to her room, she had already forgotten about it. She pushed the curtain aside and ushered Alex in. Mo stopped her before she let the material fall back into place.

"Miss Emily, both of us will be accompanying you into the desert, so we will go get ready and rejoin you at the gates. Good luck."

Emily hummed to herself but nodded. She thought it was a strange thing to say now, but she put it out of her mind.

Instead, she turned back to the room where Alex had already made himself at home and began packing her things. Her pack was half strewn across the room, so she collected everything and made sure nothing was missing.

Alex sat down on her bed gingerly and grunted when he was in place. There was a shimmer beside him, and the fox creature appeared at his side. It crawled into Alex's lap and settled down but still had the time to hiss at Emily menacingly.

She just rolled her eyes at the little thing and went back to work.

Ten minutes later, Emily was almost done packing, and neither of them had spoken a word.

So she was surprised when Alex broke the silence.

"By now, I know better than to assume your limits, but Emily, this time, you may have taken on more burden than you can bear. Hermes is not someone we can fight right now. Are you sure about this?"

Emily shrugged. "Sure, it'll be hard, but he's expecting to win easily. So I've got the upper hand and a trick or two up my sleeve."

Alex's face twisted with something close to concern, and Emily couldn't stand it. "Relax. There aren't a lot of viable moves here. Option one: we run—but I doubt you're keen on leaving the Wandering Fangs. Option two: we destroy the whole city, and I'm not even sure that's possible, let alone smart. So that leaves option three—play by their rules… and cheat whenever we can."

Alex opened his mouth to argue, but whatever words he'd had caught in his throat.

Emily tightened her pack to her back after she was done adjusting her travel clothes.

She left the robe on the bed but tied the headdress to her belongings.

Alex got up and stretched his arm out. She'd given him a tonic on the way over here, so he should have been almost fully healed.

Climbing up from the mattress, he stroked the fox and grunted.

"We need to pass by my tent so I can pick up my gear," he said.

A feat that turned out to be harder than they expected, because as they were getting ready to leave, Tao arrived. He was fully kitted out in his robe and headdress. He held two packs. One was his own, and the other he handed to Alex.

"I've filled a bag with basic supplies, as you won't have time to return to your camp. Mounts will be provided for the journey."

Emily had not seen Cupcake since they had arrived in this place. She had let Gerade take care of her as she hadn't known what would happen to her otherwise.

Both Alex and Emily strongly disagreed with this, but Tao seemed adamant.

"We don't have the time. Our sandburrowers are far more suited to the environment anyway."

Emily strongly disagreed but realized her words were wasted on him, instead, she drew a small thread of power from her chest and sent it pulsing out.

When they were ready to leave, Tao escorted them to the stairs, and as they climbed them, Emily felt something was off.

She'd not seen a single Shaman in the passageways.

At the exit to the roots, Tao called out from behind her.

"I see you brought your headdress; wear it now," he said firmly.

Emily pursed her lips; she found the request strange, and yet something was happening, so she donned it. At the same time, she sent a small amount of blood into it again to recreate that same thorny masterpiece, this time incorporating the circlet the Hearthspeaker had given her.

The entrance to the roots was closed when they got to them. This was strange because, as far as Emily knew, they had never closed once since she arrived there.

Before they could be barred by them, the large stone slabs groaned open. What Emily saw waiting for them on the other side was a shock, to say the least.

What stood in front of her was a human archway of Ashvali. Their already tall forms holding their spears above their heads, touching at the points.

Shamans, fighters, and even the average citizens held aloft spears. Those that didn't, watched from rooftops and street corners as though this were some event of the season.

The procession snaked down into the city, leading to the main entrance. It looked like some kind of farewell ceremony.

Emily glanced at Tao with a scowl, but he just shrugged.

"The Hearthspeaker insisted on sending you off like a proper Shaman."

Deciding that there was no point in hesitation, Emily took a step towards the man-made tunnel.

Alex followed closely, and Tao brought up the rear.

Walking through people like this felt strange as each face blurred past.

Some held encouraging smiles, while others wore only a firm expression. However, there was no hint of disgust Emily had seen over the last few days. She could even recognize something resembling respect in their eyes.

Undertaking a suicidal ceremony had earned her points in their books, great.

Near the end, Emily noticed the woman Shaman who had been with Hermes watching her. She had this strange expression on her face, almost sorrow.

By the time she'd gotten to the end, she found Mo and Ra waiting there patiently as dozens of people whistled and cheered.

They fell in line with the three of them as the large door leading out into the desert creaked open.

A rush of blazing wind slithers forth and caresses their faces. Just as they were about to step out into the sun, Emily caught sight of a crimson-furred monstrosity. Cupcake came lumbering out of the crowd. She moved to nuzzle Emily, and she embraced the Rime wolf's large head.

Emily had called to her earlier; she wasn't sure her power would be able to reach the beast at this distance, but on reaching her newest threshold, their connection must have deepened.

Emily was, however, surprised to see Ashe break out of the crowd of spectators clutching a book and a strange piece of stone.

Before she could get near, the guards moved to block her, and when Emily tried to close the distance, Alex grabbed her wrist, shaking his head.

Glancing back, she saw Ashe had been caught, but she made a quick gesture, and the two objects went shooting from her grasp and rushed toward Emily.

Seeing them coming, she caught them.

Emily heard her say something, but her voice was lost in the crowd, and then her face disappeared behind a spectator. The last thing Emily saw was Ashe's look of concern.

Emily was grateful for her help, but she needed to get her head in the game, so instead of dwelling, she turned back to look at the beam of sunlight and the sands beyond.

Alex put a hand on her shoulder, and they passed out into the desert once more.

Blood points: 634

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